I have always if our faith came from God why it was that some were quick to
say others didn't have enough faith.....I never liked all those "name
it-claim it" teachings, it sounded to me like demanding that God give you
your request, it wasn't leaving the decision up to Him but in a sense a
demand that He make our life easy, wonderful and pain free.......I am taking
a Philosophy class at Liberty a Christian university.....it is interesting
to see what many think, my husband asked me the other day why it was that
we were so quick to give God credit for good things, blessings, but we
didn't also say that He allowed something we didn't like, if He has all
power, He could stop the hard things,
interesting thought!!
Rhonda
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 07, 2009 3:05 PM
Subject: The Object Of Your Faith
> Worth re-reading.
>
> The Object Of Your Faith
>
> By Phil Scovell
>
>
> Philippians 4:19
> But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in
> glory by Christ Jesus.
>
> 1. Focus.
>
> * "But my God."
>
> This is our personal focus. If we don't start there, it
> isn't going to happen no matter whom we claim as our favorite
> preacher.
>
> 2. Fulfillment.
>
> * "Shall supply."
>
> This is our fulfillment. The Greek word for "supply" is the
> same word translated "filled in Ephesians 5:18 "and be ye filled
> with the Spirit," as well as the same word rendered "complete" in
> Colossians 2:10 which says, "And ye are complete in Him which is
> the head of all principality and power." Try and improve upon
> that. Like we used to say in the sixties, "Far out."
>
> 3. Fruitfulness.
>
> * "All your need."
>
> This is your fruitfulness. The word rendered as "need" means
> what you think it means. However, it is a stronger word which
> also encompasses your wants, that is, whatever is required to
> conduct business, and provide to the fullest. No lack, in other
> words. It isn't just in reference to money.
>
> 4. Fortune.
>
> * "According to his riches in glory."
>
> this is your fortune, that is, those things which are eternal and
> what comes from Heaven to Earth in your behalf for provision.
>
> 5. Faith.
>
> * "By Christ Jesus."
>
> this is the object of your faith.
>
> Hebrews 11:1 is perhaps the most popular of passages on faith.
> Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
> things not seen.
>
> Compare this passage with another reference from the same book.
>
> Hebrews 1:3
> Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
> his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power,
> when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand
> of the Majesty on high.
>
> There is absolutely no doubt to whom the writer of Hebrews is
> referring; Jesus The Christ. The word for "person" in this
> passage, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
> image of his person," is the same Greek word translated as
> "substance in Hebrews 11:1 which says, "Now faith is the substance
> of things hoped for." Thus, the passage can literally read, "Now
> faith is the person of things hoped for." Stated precisely, it
> reads, "Now faith is the Christ of things hoped for."
>
> The Bottom Line
>
> This is my personal opinion, of course, so you can take it
> for what it's worth.
>
> Jesus the Christ is the object of our faith. Most of us
> attempt exercising faith. Why? It's how we've been taught, for
> the most part, so we "practice" our faith. The frustration of
> this philosophy is that we have to keep practicing and practicing
> and practicing. Eventually, therefore, we grow tired of trying
> and figure it just must be because we don't have enough faith. If
> we don't feel that way, somebody somewhere will be sure to tell
> us such is the case.
>
> Romans 12:3 tells us that God has given to every man the
> measure of faith. If you study the Greek word for "measure," you
> will quickly learn that the faith we have is an exact measurement.
> That is, everybody who comes to Christ as Lord and Savior
> receives the same, or exact, or identical measurement of faith.
> It is like cutting a pie into exactly six pieces. Everybody gets
> the same size. I don't have more than you and you don't have more
> than me. In fact, the preacher you are listening to on the
> television doesn't even have any more faith than you have
> regardless of what he says. On the other hand, it is what we do
> with the faith that counts.
>
> I have literally heard Bible teachers comparing faith to
> muscular strength. Therefore, the more you exercise, lift
> weights, the stronger you become. According to proper
> interpretive Scripture methodology, that is, hermeneutics, this is
> completely erroneous theology. The truth is simple; Jesus Christ
> is the object of our faith. If you go any place else for it, if
> you attempt to practice faith, if you follow a four step plan, or
> if you attempt to use the faith you think you see in someone else,
> you will experience nothing in return. You heard me correctly.
> Faith is an experience. I will prove what I just said in a
> moment.
>
> Illustration
>
> when I was little, I was fascinated with watching my dad wash
> his car. He would screw a nozzle on to the end of the long snake
> green hose and turn on the water. The adjustable nozzle had four
> settings which were used for different purposes. One setting was
> a needle spray which was so fine, if you placed your bare hand in
> front of the hose, it literally would sting your skin. This was
> perfect for lasering off thick encrusted dried mud stuck in the
> wheel wells. Other settings allowed you to gently caress the
> car's surface to wash away loose dirt. One setting I always
> enjoyed playing with was a hard cylinder shape of water which
> gushed out of the nozzle under tremendous force. It was so
> powerful, I could hold the nozzle in the air and the spray of
> water would arc high into the air across the yard and land a good
> 30 feet away. Yes, you are correct. I spent more time playing
> with the hose and the water than I did washing the car.
>
> One day, dad told me to go out and wash the car. I loved
> doing it so I was happy to obey. I didn't know where the nozzle
> was so I just decided to use the hose by itself by placing my
> thumb over the end of the hose, just like I had see my dad do at
> times, and thus increase the pressure coming out of the hose. It
> had so precious little effect, it was obvious I couldn't wash the
> car that way. Putting the hose down, I ran to look for the
> nozzle. Shutting the water off, I screwed the nozzle on the end.
> Twisting the water back on, I dialed up the various settings.
> That made all the difference in the world. Now I could finish the
> job and do it right and in a lot less time, too.
>
> One day, while meditating on faith, the Holy Spirit reminded
> me of this childhood memory. He said, "This is faith." I asked
> the Lord what He was talking about. He clearly told me that
> faith was a fixed and exact measurement of His own nature which He
> had given to all those truly born again. The water running
> through the hose was a picture of that exact measurement of faith.
> I asked the Lord what made the difference in how the water was
> used. He said, "Whatever you screw on to the end of your faith.
>
> What are you using on the end of your faith? If you are
> using a favorite testimonial you heard in a sermon, if you are
> using some outline, if you are practicing on small things at first
> to see if it works or not before reaching for bigger acts of
> faith, then you will discover not only does it not work, but you
> will eventually become deceived by the Enemy for "your lack of
> faith." "It is your fault, you aren't spiritual enough," or, "you
> have secret sin in your life," are some of the Enemy's most
> favorite lies he will drop into the flow of your daily thought
> processes.
>
> Let me ask you this question. What did you use for faith
> when you received Christ as your Savior, confessing you were a
> sinner, and couldn't save yourself? That's right. You used Jesus
> as the object of your faith. May I now ask this question? When
> did you stop using Jesus as the object of your faith? It is time
> to rethink what we believe. Do it now.
>
> Satan Has A GOD Complex
> WWW.SafePlaceFellowship.com
>
> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus
> signature database 4403 (20090907) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
>
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 4403 (20090907) __________
The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
http://www.eset.com
|
